If you and your family live near the coast, especially the East Coast, you are very familiar with hurricane season. It comes every year from the beginning of June to the end of November. However, just because it comes every year does not make it less important to prepare for. Hurricanes are powerful storms that can cause serious damage.
It is important to have a family hurricane preparedness plan in place should a disaster strike, you have a plan to fall back on.
How a Hurricane forms
If you can recognize how a hurricane forms, and what signs you can keep an eye out for, it can give you and your family a heads up on an approaching storm. In order for a hurricane to fully form it needs a couple of things: warm water, a tropical wave, thunderstorm activity and low wind shear. All of these things together will create a hurricane.
The different categories
A hurricane is generally a very powerful storm, but there are different categories of severity that it can go through. Hurricanes start out as a tropical storm and then progress from Categories 1 through 5 as it becomes more and more powerful. It becomes a tropical storm when wind speeds reach up to 39 mph and it progresses to a Category 5 hurricane when it reaches wind speeds of 156 mph and beyond.
It is important to have a family hurricane preparedness plan in place should you ever get hit with a Category 5 hurricane.
Have somewhere to go
You want to make sure that your family hurricane preparedness plan includes a safe place to stay. This can be a storm shelter or a place that is outside of the danger zone. Ask friends and relatives who live away from the coast if it would be okay to stay with them if your city is forced to evacuate. If evacuation orders are not instructed, then a shelter of an interior room with no windows will help protect you from high winds and flooding.
What to pack
You're going to want to make sure that your shelter has enough food and water for three days for each person who might be sheltered there. Don’t forget to think about your pets too when counting people! Have copies of all your important documents in a safe deposit box. Pack all your prescriptions and don’t forget about entertainment options as well! It’s best to pack some games, and maybe candles in case the power goes out. If you live in a warm and humid area like Florida, we also recommend packing a battery operated fan.
Practice the plan
It’s easy for you and your family to develop a sense of anxiety about a coming storm, having a plan that you have practiced can help ease fears. As soon as you have your family hurricane preparedness plan in place, practice it with all your family members. Make sure they know where the family binder is, where the shelter is, memorize emergency phone numbers and practice going to your meeting spot should everyone be separated.
Sign up for Civil Dispatch
Civil Dispatch is an emergency communication system that can send you alerts instantly during a time of crisis. It can help you in developing a family hurricane preparedness plan by signing up for weather notifications and using it for your own personal family communication as well.